Franklin man trapped in burning home dies

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FRANKLIN, Ind. (Nov. 25, 2013) – One man was killed and another remains hospitalized following a Johnson County house fire Monday morning.

Crews arrived in the 100 block of Herriott St around 4:20 a.m. after reports of a house fire. When firefighters arrived, heavy smoke was seen coming from the house. Fire officials said they located one person outside the residence, but crews were sent in to locate a second person.

Officials said firefighters were able to locate the victim inside using a thermal imaging camera.

Both victims were transported to Johnson Memorial Hospital, where the man who was trapped in the home was pronounced dead. The Johnson County Coroner’s Office identified him as 70-year-old Marvin Crutcher.

“We do have investigators talking to the victim who was able to get outside on his own, so we do have crews talking to him trying to figure out maybe what happened in the home before the fire,” said Chuck Ridpath with the Franklin Fire Department.

Ridpath said the two men were brothers-in-law.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this time, but police do not think it is suspicious. Investigators said it appeared to have started in a back bedroom. The man who died was found in a room next to that back bedroom.